Saturday, December 27, 2008

Hmm........"What's that smacking upside the house?", I thought to myself this morning while I slowly awoke from my slumber. Freezing rain, that's what! Oh! Great! There go my ride plans right out the window!

Fortunately as of now the freezing sheets of ice are minimal here. It looks like we might escape with just a mere coating. I went out and freed up the cars, warmed them up, and scraped off the death trap right outside the front door. Heh heh! Yeah........you can fool me once, but not twice! I'll explain........

A long time ago, probably the early, early 90's, I walked outside this very same front door on a day much the same as today. It was raining, but it was cold enough that it froze right on contact to the wooden deck of my front porch. It was totally invisible too. Black ice!

So, I step one step beyond the door and off I go! I started in to sliding on one foot with the other up in the air. I was in full dress up attire too. Leather soled shoes, suit coat, long wool overcoat, the works. Well, in the second or two that I was sliding on one foot, I had that experience where time slows down to a crawl. You know how it is. It seems everything is going in slow motion, but it isn't. A weird synchronicity of fast and slow time. Anyway.......

I decided that when I reached the end of the porch deck that I would cock the leg I was sliding on and push off with all my might in an attempt to clean the four cast concrete stairs to the sidewalk. I figured, in my alarmed state, that I was better off hitting the flat surface than the saw toothed stair case. Well.........I made it!

I landed flat on my back, feet out toward the street. I lay there totally still, the rain coming down in a gray sheet on my lifeless body. Well, in reality, I was doing that "man thing" where you sit there and assess whether or not you are paralysed, in pain, or otherwise injured before you move. I was also in a state of disbelief at what had just occurred, and was shocked that I wasn't hurt at all!

I got up, walked away, wet but otherwise okay. Lesson learned! That porch wasn't going to do me in again like that! So today, I gingerly stuck my foot out the door and discovered that yes, it was like it was that day so many years ago. Ha ha! but I am older and wiser, so I defeated this latest attempt to upend me easily.

But enough about me! Anyone interested in a gravel ride? A-lo is going to be back in town next weekend and is planning a ride of about 20-30 miles on gravel. More details to come! Stay tuned.........